Superposed drier and kiln



lW. S. KUPFER.

SUPERPOSED DRIER AND KILN.

' APPLICATION man uma. 1920. 1,369,285. Patented Feb.22,1921.

UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

WALTER S. IKUPFER, OF NEW YORK. N. Y., ASSIGNOR TO AMERICAN DRESSLER y TUNNEL KILNS, INC., OF NEW YORK, N. Y., A CORPORATION 0F NEW YORK SUPERPOSED DRIER AND KILN.

Specicaton of Letters Patent.

Application led April 23, 1920. Serial N0. 375,926.

To all whom it may concern.'

Be it known that I, WALTER S.KUrrnR, citizen of the United States, and resident of VYew York, in the county of New York and State of New York, have inventedV certain new and useful Improvements in Superposed Driers and Kilns, of which the following 1s Va specification.

The various features of novelty which H characterize my invention are pointed outA with particularity in the claims annexed to and forming a part of this specification. For a better understanding of the invention, however, and the advantages possessed by it reference should be had to the accompanying drawings and descriptive matter in which I have illustrated a preferred embodi-` ment of my invention.`

Of the drawings;

Figure 1 is an elevation taken on the broken line 1 1 of Fig. 2. 4

Fig. 2 is a section taken on the line 2-2 of F 1g. l;

And Fig. 3 is a section taken similarly to Filg. 1 illustrating a modied construction.

the drawing and referring first to the' construction shown in Figs. 1 and 2, A represents a continuous tunnel kiln of the well known Dressler type vThe kiln chamber is provided at one end with an entrance door A1 and at the opposite end with an exit Y posite to those at which combustion is initiated, through tubular extensions D of the door A2. The kiln is heated by combustion chambers VB located in the kiln chamber at opposite-sides of the pathway for the brick or other'goods to be fired which are transported through the kiln on trucks'or cars G running onthe usual track rails provided on the floor of the kiln chamber. Combustible gasV is admitted to the combustion chambers at, or adjacent one end as byfburner pipes C, and air to support combustion 1s admitted to the combustion chambers from they kiln chamber properthrough inlets C1. The products of combustion passes out of the combustion chambers at their ends opcombustion chamber into headers D adjacenttheentrance end of the kiln, and pass Vout of the headers DV through an outlet D.

Inline with the combustion chambers and adjacent the exit end of the kiln are a series of goods cooling pipes E through which atmospheric air is drawn from inlets E4 in the kiln 1wall at the exit end of the kiln, to the headers E3, for the pipes E, adjacent the 4combustion chambers. The through the'pipes E and thereby heated is withdrawn from the headers E3 through out-V let channels E1'and E2 by a fan O.

In Vthe construction shown in Fig. 2, there are two drying chambers H, placed side by side abovethe kiln A. Each drying chamber is provided with an entrance door H1 at one end and an exit door H2 at the opposite end. Between the track rails in each of the drying .chambers for the goods carrying cars is located a conduit K, advantaalr passing Y geously formed out of sheet metal. At the exit ends of the drying chambers the conduits K are both connected to the piping D2 through which products of combustion escape from the ues D. Adjacent the entrance ends of the drying chambers the two .conduits K are connected to a cross conduit K1 running to the stack L shown. The draft creating effect of the stack may be augmented by the action of a fan. The floor of drying chambers H is formed with ports y H3 distributed along the length of the struc- Y the sides of the latter from the kiln walls by an air space through which atmospheric air, entering the space between the housing H10 and the kiln through the ports or opening H11 provided at the bottom of the housing H1", may pass upward along the walls of -the kiln and eventually pass into the drying chambers throu h the A'ports H3. The petticoat housing l 10 may be formed of sheet metalor the like, and be suspended from the Hoor of the drying chambers. Dampers M may advantageously be provided for the ports H3 especially for those nearest the entrance ends of the drying chambers.,

Air heated by contact withV I The air drawn through the cooling pipes E of the kiln A and thereby heated is utilized in the drying chambers. The means shown for distributing this air in the drying chambers comprises supply pipes l running longitudinally of the drying chambers along the iloor oi the latter except for a portion thereof immediately adjacent the entrance ends of the drying chambers. One oi' the pipes P runs along the dividing line between the two chambers H, while the other pipes Pl run along the remote sides of the two drying chambers. Each of the pipes P is provided with a series of upstanding branches P1. which are connected at their upper ends to a corresponding series ot horizontal pipe sections P2 provided with small discharge orifices distributed along their lengths.` The pipes P2 are located at about the level of the tops of the goods supporting platforms of .the cars G. Preferably the pipes P2 arel provided with regulating valves P4 which` may be adjusted automatically or manually, as required to maintain the desired drying conditions in the chambers ll. The latter are provided with root` outlets H15 for air and'moisture, distributed along the portions o'lthe driving chambers into which air is supplied through the portsl'ld and the pipes P21 The pipes P lare connected to the `'outlet o1" the fan O.

At each end of the kiln and drier structure, provisions aremade for handling the cars entering and leaving the dillerent chain,

bers at that end. The means shown at each end of the structure for this purpose comprises anV elevator l which may be yconstructed like an ordinary freight elevator, and has tracks for a transfer table J movable transversely of the `chambers to enable a car the opposite end of the chamber. Each car oi dried goods withdrawn from a drying chamber and placed on the transfer table J at the exit end of the driving chambers is next lowered to the level of the kiln chamber p and is. then moved into the latter.' As often as a car is inserted at the entrance end of the kiln chamber, a car of finished goods is withdrawn from the exit end of the kiln chamber. With the two drying chambers operatingin conjunction with a single kiln chamber of the V'same length, the rateoi travel through the kiln chamber must betwice as Leccese rapid as the rate of car travel through either drying chamber. l have not thought it necessary to illustrate means for pushing the cars into the Adrying chambers-and the kiln chamber and advancing the trains of cars normally filling the different chambers, as various forms of car pushers suitable for the purpose are well known and in common use in conjunction with continuous tunnel kilns.

As each car of goods is moved through one or the otherl of the two drying chambers H it is gradually warmed, but without any appreciable removal of surface moisture until it reaches the portion of t-he drying chamber into which air is admitted through the floor ports H3 or through the pipes P2. From then on the heating and drying act-ion becomes Vmore vigorous, and when the. car reaches the exit end of the chamber the goods arethoroughly dried. ln its passage through the kiln, each car ot brick or other goods is further heated up until the goods are thoroughly burned, and is then cooled in its passage throughthe cooling zone oit the kiln, partly by the air in direct contact with the goods leaking into the kilnchamber around the exit door ot the kiln, or entering through ports specially provided for 'the purpose at the exit end Vot' the kiln` and eventually drawn into the combustion chambers, and partly by the air liowing'through the cooling tubes E.

The arrangement disclosed in Figs. l and 2 obviously forms a simple and effective combination ot a continuous tunnel kiln `and continuous drier in Which the available waste heat from the kiln is effectively utilized in the .drying operation. rllhe arrangement ot' a continuous drier above a continuous tunnel kiln possesses certain `special advantages in that it permits theproducts ot combustion from the chamber' and the hot air from the cooling zone of the kiln chamber to be passed into the drying chambers at appropriate .points by short and simple piping and with practically no waste .of heat from this piping. A furtheradvantage is that it permits oran effective utilization of the heat otherwise lost from the kiln by radiation from its outer walls or leakagethrougli those walls to be effectively utilized in the drier. Those skilled in the art will also understand that in the manufacture of bricks, hollow tile, and the like it is a great advantage, in many cases, to carry on the .anuiacture and burning of the brickr'on diilerent floors. This simplifies the prob-v lem oi keeping the uniinished productsv apart from theV finished products and reduces the ground space required for thev plant,

' It will, of course, berobvious that instead of two Vdrying chambers `above the tunnel kiln, it may be advantageous in some cases to have more than two drying chambers, and in other cases to have only a single drying chamber, and in Fig. 3 I have shown a construction in which there is a single drying chamber HA located centrally above the kiln chamber. Aside from the omission of one drying chamber and corresponding portions of the piping, the apparatus shown in Fig. 3 need not differ from that shown in Figs. 1 and 2, and requires no additional description.

While, in accordance with the provisions of the statutes, I have illustrated and described the best form of my invention now known to me, it will be apparent to those skilled in the art that changes may be made in the form of the apparatus disclosed Without departing from the spirit of my invention as set forth in the appended claims, and that certain features of my invention may sometimes be used to advantage without a corresponding use of other features.

Having now described my invention, what I claim as new and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is:

l. The combination with a continuous tunnel kiln, of a continuous drier located above the tunnel kiln, and having its exit end adjacent the entrance end of the kiln, and goods carryin cars movable successively through the c rier and kiln.

2. The combination with a continuous tunnel kiln, of a continuous drier located above the tunnel kiln, and having its exit end adjacent the entrance end of the'kiln, goods carrying cars movable successively first through the drier and then through the kiln, and provisions for utilizing the waste heat of the kiln in heating and drying the goods passing through the drier.

The combination with a kiln, of a drier and a means for utilizing in the drier air heated by passage along the outer side of the Wall of the kiln.

4. The combination with a kiln, of a drier located above the kiln, and means providing an air space about the kiln with air inlets at its lower end and opening at its top to said drier.

5. The 'combination with a continuous tunnel kiln, of a continuous drier above the tunnel kiln, the kiln and drier each having its entrance end adjacent the exit end of the other, goods carrying cars movable successively through the drier and kiln, and elevators at each end of the kiln and drier for moving said cars between the kiln and drier levels.

6. The combination with a lcontinuous tunnel kiln having an outlet for products of combustion at one end and an outlet intermediate its ends for air used in cooling goods in a cooling Zone of the kiln, of a continuous drier located above the kiln and provided with a longitudiunal heating conduit connected at one end to the first mentioned outlet, and provided with air distributing conduits connected to the second mentioned outlet.

Signed at New York, in the county of New York and State of New York, this 21st day of April, A. D. 1920.

WALTER S. KPFER. 

